Contact point for disclosures about violations of supervisory law

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The central contact point for whistleblowers at BaFin receives disclosures about actual or suspected violations of supervisory provisions ("whistleblowing").

In this context, supervisory law should be understood in a broad sense to mean all laws, legal regulations, general administrative acts and other provisions as well as legal acts of the European Union and the European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA) for which BaFin has the mandate to ensure compliance by the companies and persons it supervises or to investigate breaches of these.

One important source of information on breaches of supervisory provisions can be disclosures by persons with a special knowledge of a company's internal affairs – for example because they are employed there or have some other contractual relationship or relationship of trust with the supervised company. By passing on such information, whistleblowers make a valuable contribution towards uncovering misconduct by individual persons or entire companies within the financial sector as well as stemming or correcting the negative consequences of such misconduct.

Such persons can communicate with the central contact point for whistleblowers, which is also responsible for any subsequent, case-specific communication with whistleblowers in order to protect them and, if desired, to maintain their anonymity.

Making disclosures anonymously

Specific disclosures are important and can help to rectify breaches of supervisory law and avoid the negative consequences of such misconduct. If whistleblowers tell BaFin their names and reveal their professional or personal relationship to the supervised company, BaFin is able to communicate with them beyond the initial disclosure. However, there may be situations in which persons with particular knowledge of processes in supervised companies do not provide BaFin with information out of fear of the consequences.

BaFin has set up an electronic whistleblowing system specifically for such cases. It is not technically possible to trace disclosures made using this system and this is certified by an independent body. It is possible to set up a protected mailbox to allow follow-up communication. This can be used to ask further questions and clarify uncertain points. The whistleblowers maintain their anonymity throughout the entire correspondence. You can find more information at www.business-keeper.com/en/.

It is also still possible to make anonymous disclosures by post, by telephone or in person. The whistleblowers themselves must ensure that no data which could reveal their identity, such as name and address or telephone number, are visible, e.g. on the telephone display. Otherwise, their anonymity would not be guaranteed.

Whistleblower protection

Even if they reveal their identity, whistleblowers should feel confident that they will not suffer from disclosing information to BaFin. Therefore, pursuant to section 4d (3) sentence 1 of the FinDAG, BaFin is not allowed to make public the identity of whistleblowers without their express prior consent.

Nevertheless, under certain circumstances, such as a criminal prosecution, it may be necessary for other bodies, for example the relevant public prosecutor's office, to be informed of the data available at BaFin so that they can continue to take action against the reported breach and, if necessary, to punish it. Pursuant to section 4d (3) sentence 3 of the FinDAG, BaFin is permitted to pass on personal data in the context of further investigations and subsequent administrative or judicial proceedings if this is required by an act or law. Courts may also order the disclosure of personal data.

Access to contact point for whistleblowers

You can make specific disclosures to the contact point for whistleblowers using the electronic whistleblowing system, by post, by e-mail, by telephone or in person. In all cases, if you wish to remain anonymous, you must ensure that you do not provide any personal data.

By e-mail

By telephone

BaFin's contact point for whistleblowers accepts telephone disclosures from 9.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. Monday to Thursday and 9.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m. on Fridays. +49 (0) 22841082355
With your consent, the telephone call will be recorded for documentation purposes.

In person

You can also make disclosures to the contact point for whistleblowers in person. Please make an appointment to do so by calling +49 (0) 22841902355 from 9.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. Monday to Thursday and 9.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m. on Fridays.

Please note that we have a statutory duty of confidentiality and are therefore unable to provide information on the current status or results of our investigations.

We are also unable to provide support in the pursuit of any individual claims, an area for which the civil courts are responsible.

Note on contact options for consumers

The contact point for whistleblowers is aimed at persons with a special knowledge of a company's internal affairs – for example because they are employed there or have some other contractual relationship or relationship of trust with the company. Consumers wishing to make a complaint to BaFin on issues such as insurance or credit contracts should continue to use the consumer helpline +49 (0) 800 2 100 500 or contact BaFin in writing or electronically.